USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume II > Part 74
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G. Russell Parker lived at home with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-one, attending the public schools of his township and the Flint high school under William Travis and E. M. Mason. He assisted his father on the farm and taught four terms of school. After his marriage, Mr. Parker engaged in farming on his own account on his father's farm, and as that was during Civil War times, he received good prices for his pro- ducts, selling wool at that time for one dollar a pound. He purchased eighty acres of his own adjoining his father's place, on which he lived for some years, and there his first wife died.
Mr. Parker has been three times married, his first marriage occurring when he was twenty-three years of age, his wife being Helen E. King, daughter of Deacon Lucius and Harriett (Brown) King. Lucius King was the son of James King, who was a pioneer settler in this county, following the occupation of tanner and shoemaker in the early days. He was active in the early development of the community, and a deacon in the Congre- gational church. To Mr. Parker's first marriage one son was born, Walter Russell, who lives in the village of Grand Blanc, married Cora Fletcher and is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land west of the village. Mrs. Helen Parker died in 1866 and in 1868 Mr. Parker married Almira Parsons, the daughter of Deacon Edward and Sarah Parsons. She was an old schoolmate of Mr. Parker's. Her grandfather was Rev. Levi Parsons, of Marcellus, Onondaga county, New York, who had a son, Levi, who was also a minister. Rev. Levi Parsons, Jr., preached forty years at Mount Morris, this county. Almira Parsons was a teacher of the freedmen under the auspices of the American Missionary Association and was sent to Atlanta at the time of her marriage by that society. Mr. Parker started south with her on his own expense, but the Missionary Association arranged with him to take a place with an orphan asylum at Atlanta, under their auspices, so he and his wife went on together, and was engaged as an all-around business man for the association for a short time. Returning to Michigan the fol- lowing June, he settled on his farm. In 1870 he moved into the village of Grand Blanc, where he engaged in the general merchandise business one year, huckstering between that village and Bay City, buying produce and
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selling goods. He followed that business one year, after which he pur- cased a grain elevator at Grand Blanc, where he did a very good business over a wide territory. Four years later he sold his interests in the elevator, and bought a half interest in the elevator at Fenton, but sold out a year later, trading for a farm two miles west of Grand Blanc, where he lived until the death of his wife's father, when he bought out the interest of the other heirs of the Parsons estate, two miles south of Grand Blanc, and on that place he lived for some years, then moved to Grand Blanc, where he built a brick residence, and again engaged in the elevator business, in the same old elevator as before; selling out again, however, in about eighteen months. On March 9, 1905, Mrs. Almira Parker died. To Mr. Parker's second marriage four children were born: Dorr, who died at the age of two years; James, a physician in Grand Blanc, who married Florence Durand and has five children, Vera, Russell, Marian, Ruth and Frances; Clare Henry, of Saginaw, principal stockholder and manager of a ten-thousand-dollar dairy company, which does an immense amount of business under the name of the Parker Dairy Company, who married Winnie Mcclellan and has four children, Henrietta, Helen, Ralph and Walter Clare, and Sarah, who mar- ried Fred Lowry, superintendent of works and construction of the Dow Chemical Company at Midland and has four children, Ronald, Wayne, Robert and Ruth.
On January 26, 1907, G. Russell Parker was married to Mrs. Lucy (Moody) Holton, who. was born in Ontario, Canada, daughter of Hill and Catherine (Whiteman) Moody, the former a native of Belfast, Ireland, and the latter of Canandaigua, New York. Hill Moody and family came to Michigan from Howard, Kent county, Ontario, in 1857, and settled at Dearborn, Wayne county, but in later life Mr. Moody and his wife came to Genesee county and here they spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Moody was a farmer in Canada, and also followed the same occupation in Michigan. In 1859, while living in Dearborn, Lucy Moody married Thomas Holton, who was born in Oxford, England, a son of William and Nancy (Eams) Holton. William Holton was born in Oxford, England, and was a graduate of Oxford University. Nancy Eams was a native of London, a neighbor of John Wesley, and was a Quakeress. Thomas Holton was a small lad when his parents came to America, settling in New York state. His father was a man of considerable means, but lost much of his wealth through ill-judged business moves. He finally engaged in the florist busi- ness at Rochester. New York, where he lived for many years. He moved into Canada, but later returned to Alleghany county, New York, where his
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death occurred. Thomas Holton lived with his parents until they moved to the latter place, when he went to the village of Belvidere. He became a bridge carpenter, and was building bridges when he came to Michigan, and was married in Wayne county. He was a member of the Baptist church, taking an active interest in the affairs of the church. He served his country during the Civil War with the Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, but was discharged after one year's service because of disability incurred while in the service, due to exposure while on guard at Nashville. He was a large man, weighing two hundred pounds. After the close of the war he and his wife moved to Alleghany county, New York, where they lived until 1873, when they returned to Michigan and settled in Grand Blanc township, this county, where her parents had recently located. There Mr. Holton followed his trade until his health failed, and for twenty-six years he was an invalid, during which time his wife cared for him, working at the trade of dress- maker for thirty-five years. Mr. Holton died on February 15, 1906. One daughter was born to that union, Lizzie M., now deceased, who became the wife of Mr. Parker's youngest brother, Henry, and had two children, Willis, who died at the age of three years and nine months, and Ward Parker. Henry Parker and wife also had an adopted son, Milton D., who died at the age of two years.
Mr. Parker is a member of the Congregational church, while his wife is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Parker has long been active in the county committee of the Prohibition party, but is now an independent voter.
D. EUGENE HINKLEY.
A merchant of long standing and a citizen of Genesee county, against whom no one has ever heard adverse criticism, is D. Eugene Hinkley, who conducts a jewelry business in Fenton, where he has spent the major por- tion of his life.
D. Eugene Hinkley was born in this county, September 28, 1854. a son of Aaron and Mariah (Baker) Hinkley, and a grandson of Royal Baker, a native of Rochester, New York, who came to Michigan in 1830, locating among the pioneers in Oakland county, where he developed a farm through hard work and persistent effort. Elijah Hinkley, the paternal grandfather, spent most of his life in the state of New York, engaged in farming, but late in life he came to Michigan and spent the rest of his days in Oakland
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county. Aaron Hinkley grew up on the home farm and received his edu- cation in the public schools of Oakland county. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church. His death occurred on June II, 1893, and his widow survived until November 1, 1900. To these parents two children were born, Myra and D. Eugene.
D. Eugene Hinkley completed his schooling in the high school at Fen- ton. He has been engaged in the jewelry business since 1877, having served his apprenticeship under D. Parmely in Rochester, New York. He has an excellent equipment for repairing jewelry, clocks and watches, and is a skilled workman. He carries a very creditable stock of goods at all seasons and his place of business is well known to the people of this county. He is a member of the Baptist church and the Royal Arcanum lodge.
On October 22, 1879, D. Eugene Hinkley was married to Jennie L. Galusha, who was born in Shiawassee county, Michigan, and to this union four children have been born: Roy G., Myra L., Nellie G., and Maurice E. Roy G. Hinkley lives in Warsaw, Indiana. He married Catherine Curtis, and they have three children, Curtis, Margaret and Willah.
FRANK F. GLERUM.
Although a young man, having reached the age when most of us are just starting out on our serious careers, Frank F. Glerum, a successful and influential banker of Linden, has proven that "young blood will tell" if given a proper chance and is properly directed and controlled, as it evidently has in his case; and, judging from his splendid record of the past, the future must necessarily hold much in store for him.
Frank F. Glerum was born in Osceola, Michigan, November 1, 1885, and is a son of John and Rebecca (Vanderburg) Glerum. The father was born in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, and is still living, making his home at Leroy, this state. He has been engaged in the hardware business for the past forty years. The mother, who also survives, is a native of Holland, from which country she came to America when young. To these parents six children have been born, George, Edward, Katherine, Benjamin, Frank and Orville, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only one living in Genesee county. The father is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Frank F. Glerum attended the high school at Leroy and the Big Rapids
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Institute. In 1908 he was sent to Linden to take charge, as cashier, of the Bank of Linden, for which his natural ability and education well fitted him, as he had had banking experience as receiving teller of the Peoples State Savings Bank of Detroit, and he soon mastered the various ins and outs of the banking business. He, with J. I .. Spencer and his brother, George, and Ire and Franklin Sayre, had bought the private bank of Moore & Moore, which they conducted three years with gratifying results. Frank F. Glerum then purchased the interest of his brother and Mr. Spencer purchased the interest of the Sayres, forming a partnership with J. L. Spencer, and they are now the sole owners of the Bank of Linden, one of the prosperous, sound and popular banks of this section of the state. It is well patronized, does a general banking business along conservative lines, and is well housed, having modern equipments in the way of safe and fixtures.
On November 24, 1915, Mr. Glerum was married to Josephine Hyatt. He is a Republican and a member of the Masonic order.
CHARLES F. MATHEWS.
Charles F. Mathews, grocer of Fenton, is a man who has always guarded well his conduct in all the relations of life, and while advancing his individual interests has not neglected his general duties as a neighbor and citizen, and has been a friend to man.
Mr. Mathews was born in Oakland county, Michigan, December 26, 1873, a son of L. C. and Mary (Garner) Mathews. Robert Garner, his maternal grandfather, came to Michigan in a very early day and settled in Oakland county, where he spent the rest of his life. He was an active member of the Congregational church. Grandfather Mathews was a native of New York. He devoted his active life to general farming, but he never came to this part of the country. L. C. Mathews came to Michigan with his brother, when a boy. He devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, owning a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Oakland county. He was a member of the Grange and was an honest and highly-respected citizen. His death occurred on January 10, 1915, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1901. To these parents five children were born, A. O., Lillian, Robert, Mary and Charles F.
The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood days on the home farm and received his education in the public schools of Oakland county and in
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the Normal School at Fenton, later taking a course in the business college at Saginaw, Michigan. He began his business life as a groceryman in 1901, continuing in the same alone for five years, then took in as a partner Matthew Cimmer, and they have continued in the business successfully ever since, enjoying an extensive trade with the people of Fenton and Genesee county, and carrying at all seasons a large stock of Staple and fancy gro- ceries. Mr. Mathews owns a good house and lot in Fenton, also a cottage at the lake.
Mr. Mathew is a member of the Presbyterian church. He was married on December 15, 1897, to Edith McPherson, a daughter of William McPher- son and wife, an old and respected family of Genesee county, and to this union four children have been born, Glen, Rolly, Leslie, and Lyman C.
EDWARD A. SCHMIER.
One of the enterprising younger farmers of Grand Blanc township is Edward A. Schmier, who was born March 14, 1884, in Mount Morris town- ship, the son of Adam A. and Catherine (Webber) Schmier, both of whom were natives of Germany.
At the age of ten years, Adam A. Schmier came with his parents, Albert Schmier and wife, to the United States. The family located first in Liv- ingston county, Michigan, where the father followed farming for some years, then moved to Mt. Morris township, this county, where Mrs. Albert Schmier died, while her husband spent his last days with his son, Adam, in Grand Blanc township. Adam Schmier grew to manhood in Livingston county, attending the schools there, and assisting his father clear his eighty acres of land. About 1873 he came to this county and bought one hundred and sixty acres of timber land in Mt. Morris township, and there spent three winters clearing his land, working with his father in Livingston county during the summers. The family finally moved to Mt. Morris township, and there Adam Schmier was married to Catherine Webber, who was born in Germany, coming to America at the age of sixteen with a neighbor girl, finding employment in Detroit for a time as a domestic. In her childhood she and Adam Schmier had been acquaintances in the old country. Adam Schmier remained in Mt. Morris township until the spring of 1895, when he bought a farm at Gibsonville, of one hundred and sixty acres. He lived there until 1908, when he removed to Flint and began dealing in real estate at a time when everything was booming in that city, and it was just begin-
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ning its phenomenal growth. He still owns property in Flint, but two years ago, removed to a farm two and one-half miles southwest of Flint, where he is now living. He and his wife are the parents of six children : Louise, the wife of Charles W. Hackney, of Mount Morris township; Flora, the wife of Frank Dibble, of Atlas township; Emma, the wife of Fred Adams, a resident of Mt. Morris township; August, a farmer living in the north part of Grand Blanc township; Edwin, the immediate subject of this review; and Walter, a resident of Davison township.
Edwin A. Schmier received his education in the public schools of his home county and lived at home with his parents until they moved to Flint. At the age of twenty-one he began farming for himself south of Grand Blanc, and ever since has been located on the farm at Gibsonville. He is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land there, and was one of the first farmers in Grand Blanc township to use a tractor for plowing. He has a very fine implement of this kind which plows four furrows at a time, doing the work of twelve horses and four men.
On June 20, 1911, Edward S. Schmier was married to Blanche A. Gibson, a daughter of Stanford S. Gibson and wife, who are mentioned elsewhere in this work.
HORACE P. MARTIN.
Horace P. Martin, one of Flint's best-known lawyers and real-estate dealers, is a native of New York, having been born near the city of Albany, capital of that state, February 10, 1874, son and only child of James B. and Lavina (Peaslee) Martin, both natives of Albany. James B. Martin was engaged in the manufacture of knit goods. He was killed by a runaway horse in 1878, he then being thirty-five years of age. He was the son of John R. and Lavina (Burton) Martin, both natives of New York state, the former born in Washington county and the latter in Rensselaer county. At one time John R. Martin was a merchant at Bath, New York. He died not long after reaching middle life and his widow survived to be eighty years of age. They were the parents of two children, James B. and Elizabeth B., the latter of whom, unmarried, is still living. During the Civil War James B. Martin was connected with the provost marshal's office, being stationed a part of the time at Albany and the remainder of the time in Virginia, serving throughout the war in that capacity. He was a Presbyterian and his wife an Episcopalian. The latter was a daughter of Horace W. and Ann (Car-
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penter) Peaslee, both natives of New York state. Ann Carpenter's mother was a Payn, of Revolutionary stock and Dutch descent. There is still in possession of the family the pewter plates brought from Holland by the Payns in the seventeenth century. Horace W. Peaslee was a man of grand character, a native of Kinderhook, New York, and a boyhood and life-long friend of Martin Van Buren. He was trained as a millwright, but later became and for forty years was a paper manufacturer, one of the first straw- board manufacturers in the United States and the patentee of the straw- washing machine that revolutionized the strawboard industry in this country. He and his wife lived in the same house at Malden, New York, for more than forty years. He died at the age of seventy-seven and she survived him, dying at the age of eighty-five. They were the parents of ten chil- dren, Elizabeth, Hall, Cornelia, George H., Mary, Andrew, Frances, Elsie, Lavina and John. John R. Martin's widow survived him many years, her death occurring in 1909, she being then upwards of sixty years of age.
Horace P. Martin was about four years old when his father met his tragic death. He was reared at Albany, attending the schools of that city, his summers being spent with his grandfather Peaslee, until he was thirteen years of age, when he came to Michigan, locating at Flint, where he con- tinued his schooling until 1890, in which year he entered a drug store and was for two years engaged as a clerk. He then was otherwise engaged until January 1, 1894, on which date he began studying law in the offices of Newton & Golden, at Flint, and was admitted to the bar in 1897, since which time he has been engaged in the practice of his profession at Flint. In addition to his general practice, Mr. Martin also is engaged in the gen- eral real-estate and insurance business. He was circuit court commissioner for four years and also served for four years as prosecuting attorney for this judicial district.
On September 12, 1905, Horace P. Martin was united in marriage to Edith V. Gilbert, who was born on a farm at the edge of the city of Flint, daughter of Charles F. and Adelle (Farrand) Gilbert, both natives of this state. the latter of whom died in 1912, at the age of forty-four years, and the former of whom is still living, now making his home in Flint. They were the parents of three children, Mrs. Martin having two sisters, Pearl and Claudia. Charles F. Gilbert's father, Henry C. Gilbert, and his wife, the latter of whom was a Stearns, both natives of western New York, were early settlers of Genesee county, and Henry C. Gilbert is still living on his homestead farm in this county, at the great age of ninety-four years. Mrs.
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Charles F. Gilbert's father, Andrew Jackson Farrand, and wife, the latter of whom was a Hoard, also came to this state from New York state and were early settlers in Oakland county.
To Horace P. and Edith V. (Gilbert) Martin two children have been born, daughters both, Elizabeth and Frances. Mrs. Martin is a member of the Episcopal church and Mr. Martin is a Presbyterian. He is a thirty- second degree Mason, affiliated with the consistory, Ancient Accepted Scot- tish Rite, at Bay City, his local connection with the order being through membership in Genesee Lodge No. 174, Free and Accepted Masons, at Flint. He also is a member of Flint Lodge No. 222, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Flks, and in the affairs of both of these orders takes a warm interest. Mr. Martin is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs. He and his family have a pleasant home at 808 East street.
WILLIAM LAUDERBAUGH.
William Lauderbaugh, a well-known farmer of Atlas township, this county, owner of a well-kept farm in rural route No. 2, out of Goodrich, is a native of New York state, but has lived in this county ever since the days of his infancy and has therefore been a witness to the wonderful development that has marked this region during the past half century or more, and has done his part in promoting that development so far as it relates to the neighborhood in which he has lived so many years. He was born in Erie county, New York, January 1, 1855, son of John and Elizabeth (Ebeler) Lauderbaugh, the former a native of Germany and the latter of New York, who later became pioneers in Atlas township, this county, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
John Lauderbaugh was about thirty years of age when he came to this country from Germany about 1851, and located in Erie county, New York, where he followed his trade as a stone mason and where he married Eliza- beth Ebeler, who was born in that state of German parentage. In 1856 he and his family came to Michigan and located on the northeast quarter of section 25 in Atlas township, this county, and there John Lauderbaugh and his wife spent the remainder of their days. While paying for his farm he continued working at his trade as the opportunity offered, but upon becoming firmly established, discontinued his mason work and there-
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after devoted his whole attention to farming. His death occurred on June 4, 1896, and his widow survived, him for about three years, her death occurring in February, 1899. They were members of the Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. There were ten of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch, the first-born, and Eliza, wife of Frank Niles, the fourth in order of birth, are the only survivors, the others having been as follow: Mary, who became the wife of Charles Game; John, who died on March 3, 1916; Emma, the wife of Philip Muench; Frances, who had a twin brother, the latter of whom died in infancy; Charles, Henry and Frank.
William Lauderbaugh was but little more than a year old when his parents came to this county from New York and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Atlas township, presently beginning farming on his own account, and has ever since been actively engaged in farming. For two years he farmed on the shares south of Goodrich, and then was located for another period of two years on a farm at the south edge of that village. In the meantime, in 1881, he married, and as he prospered in his affairs bought, in 1887, a farm of forty acres in section 12 of Atlas township, where he established his home. He improved that place and in the spring of 1907 bought another tract of sixty acres nearby. In 1912 he sold the "sixty," but still retains his original "forty," which he has developed into a good farm and where he has a very comfortable home.
Mr. Lauderbaugh has been twice married. In 1881 he was married to Emily Henderson, who died on May 4, 1907. She was the mother of four children, namely: Rhoda, who became the wife of John Miteen, a farmer near the village of Grand Blanc, and has three children, Gladys, Ferris and Winston William; Mabel, the wife of Henry Britten, living east of Goodrich, has one daughter, Shirley; Flora, who lives at home, and Carrie, who died when eighteen months of age. On May 20, 1908, William Lauderbaugh married Mrs. Ida (Middleton) Allen, widow of William Allen, who died in 1906. She was born in Rose township, Oak- land county, this state, daughter of William H. and Betsy Jane (Chase) Middleton, natives of the state of New York, and early settlers in this part of the state, both having come to this section of Michigan with their respec- tive parents in the days of their youth, the latter's father, Edward Chase, having been a tavern keeper at or near Troy, in Oakland county, in the early days, and after a number of years there kept a tavern at Rose Corners, William H. Middleton and his wife spent their married life on a farm in
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